Bonus Army Riot

Bonus Army demonstrators are dispersed by armed guards and tear gas on July 29, 1932. The so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force, made up if some 15,000 veterans and their families, had staged a protest in Washington, DC in hopes of obtaining payments of their World War I bonus. Though almost all of the marchers were legitimate veterans, General Douglas MacArthur was convinced that at least 90% of them were fakes. And he refused even to read the President's direct orders that he not use force.